ITIL 5 Explained. What ITSM Professionals Need to Know

If you’re an IT service management (ITSM) professional, you’ve likely heard of ITIL (formerly known as the IT Infrastructure Library). It was the most popular framework for ITSM (up to ITIL v3), then for service management (ITIL 4). Now, with the release of ITIL (Version 5), it focuses on digital product and service management. If you ask an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for information on ITIL, you’ll get lots of helpful text. However, you’ll also get some unhelpful text. Some of this relates to the mixing of ITIL versions. While some is simply down to the technology not understanding, or having experienced, the ITIL guidance in a real-world context. Don’t worry, this blog is here to help – providing insight into ITIL, and the new version in particular, that’s human-crafted to ensure everything is good.

Why ITIL (Version 5) Still Matters in 2026 and Beyond

Really, this is a two-part question and answer:

Why ITIL Matters

The first of these questions can be answered through ITIL’s level of global adoption over the last four decades. Nothing else has come close to ITIL’s success despite its detractors. It’s still very popular in terms of social conversations and exam interest. Importantly, ITIL isn’t a standard for your organization to be assessed against. Instead, it’s a framework of guidance that can be applied as needed using an “adopt and adapt” approach. Take only what your organization needs. No matter the “ITIL backlash”-type social media posts you might see, ITIL is still the primary body of knowledge guiding service management (not just ITSM) professionals.

If you’re a Jira Service Management (JSM) customer, you might already be employing ITIL best practices to improve your IT service delivery and support. Especially because JSM is accredited for ten ITIL 4 practices. You might already appreciate why ITIL matters to IT operations. Therefore, a variant of the second question then applies: “Should we move to ITIL (Version 5)?”

Why ITIL 4 Was Updated

The second question has been answered formally by ITIL’s owner, PeopleCert. There are various explanations, including that: “The world of business and IT’s role in it has changed significantly since ITIL 4 was published in 2019. We’ve seen:

• Fast-growing complexity
• Emergence and fast adoption of AI
• Balance between strategic direction and practicality
• Persistent silos within the technology industry
• Growing attention to the human side of technology.” ITIL (Version 5) addresses these and other changes.

ITIL (Version 5): What’s In a Name?

You might be wondering why this blog calls the new incarnation of ITIL “ITIL (Version 5)”. This was the name used by PeopleCert, the owners of ITIL, in addition to “ITIL” at launch. Why? “New ITIL” and “ITIL (Version 5)” differentiated the new version from its predecessors, such as ITIL 4. However, despite these “preferred” names, the service management community is already using shortened versions such as ITIL v5 and ITIL 5. It could be that, like shortcutting a pathway corner and walking across the grass, it’s simply easier to say or write ITIL 5 than ITIL (Version 5). Or it could be that the previous changes have muddied the water somewhat, with ITIL going from ITIL v2 to ITIL v3 (and ITIL 2011 as a refresh) to ITIL 4. So much emphasis was placed on it being ITIL 4, not ITIL v4, that I can understand why people now want to call the latest version of ITIL “ITIL 5.” Only time will tell whether we keep ITIL (Version 5) or if community use leaves us with ITIL 5.

What’s Changed from ITIL 4 to ITIL 5 (and Why It Matters to You)

A Little ITIL History (pre-Version 5)

ITIL emerged in 1989 when the UK Government sought to address IT project-related issues. The 1990s saw ITIL grow in popularity, and the second version (ITIL v2) was published in 2001. The third version (ITIL v3) was published in 2007, with this “refreshed” in 2011 (ITIL 2011). During the noughties, in particular, ITIL helped sell ITSM tools, and ITSM tools helped sell ITIL. ITIL 4 in 2019 was a major change for ITIL that included:

• A service management, not just ITSM, focus
• A focus on value creation (or value co-creation)
• The introduction of the Service Value System and Service Value Chain
• 34 management practices that included processes (which were the backbone of ITIL v3/2011)
• ITIL guiding principles
• The four dimensions of service management (these replaced v3’s four Ps).

What Changed in ITIL (Version 5)

ITIL (Version 5) very much builds on the step change made in ITIL 4, with differences that include:

• ITIL is now described as: “a framework and best practice guidance for digital product and service management.” Because of this change, some new names are needed, such as the ITIL Product and Service Lifecycle Model, ITIL Value System, and the Four Dimensions of Product and Service Management
• Four new “core” ITIL books (in addition to ITIL Foundation) – ITIL Strategy (Version 5), ITIL Product (Version 5), ITIL Service (Version 5), and ITIL Experience (Version 5).
• Two additional books – ITIL Transformation (Version 5) and ITIL AI Governance (Version 5). The 34 ITIL management practices in ITIL 4 were unchanged at the launch of ITIL (Version 5), but these will be updated during 2026. So far, the names haven’t changed, but their position between service management, general management, and technology might have.

What ITIL (Version 5) Means for ITSM Professionals

The answer to this is very much “It depends.” ITIL has always been about better IT service delivery and support. Some organizations might see this as meaning to be “on the latest version” and will change how they work to reflect the guidance in ITIL (Version 5). Other organizations might be happy with how they work using ITIL 4 (or ITIL v3 or even ITIL v2). Hence, ITIL (Version 5) will impact organizations differently. For example, if your organization is adopting ITIL (Version 5) based on an existing ITIL 4 foundation, its contents and your approach will differ from if your organization is currently using ITIL v3 (2011 Edition). Rising above this, though, it’s worth reflecting on the drivers for the change from ITIL 4 to ITIL (Version 5). There are many – after all, as stated earlier, much has changed in the world since ITIL 4 was launched in 2019. These and real-world adoption issues include:

• A lack of “modernity,” in service management terms – for example, the experience management and AI content in ITIL 4 was insufficient.
• That some service value chain activities were not well enough described to make value-stream design easy.
• Some practices describe how to create digital products, even though ITIL 4 is focused on managing services.

Finding Out More About ITIL (Version 5)

There are authoritative sources you can use to learn more about ITIL (Version 5). The PeopleCert website is one, but this is linked to ITIL certification. The ITSM.tools website is another, which offers free ITSM-related content. However, be wary of ITIL (Version 5) content and images created by AI. While it might look great, it’s potentially riddled with errors, especially if the “human author” lacks the knowledge to sense-check what their prompt has created.